Radiance by Grace Draven

Title: Radiance

Author: Grace Draven

Series: Wraith Kings #1

Publication Date: January 11, 2015

Genre: Fantasy Romance

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Synopsis

The Prince of no value
Brishen Khaskem, prince of the Kai, has lived content as the nonessential spare heir to a throne secured many times over. A trade and political alliance between the human kingdom of Gaur and the Kai kingdom of Bast-Haradis requires that he marry a Gauri woman to seal the treaty. Always a dutiful son, Brishen agrees to the marriage and discovers his bride is as ugly as he expected and more beautiful than he could have imagined.

The noblewoman of no importance
Ildiko, niece of the Gauri king, has always known her only worth to the royal family lay in a strategic marriage. Resigned to her fate, she is horrified to learn that her intended groom isn’t just a foreign aristocrat but the younger prince of a people neither familiar nor human. Bound to her new husband, Ildiko will leave behind all she’s known to embrace a man shrouded in darkness but with a soul forged by light.

Two people brought together by the trappings of duty and politics will discover they are destined for each other, even as the powers of a hostile kingdom scheme to tear them apart.

My Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

This has been on my TBR for a while now and I can’t believe I put off reading it for so long because I loved it. Thanks to Destiny for buddy reading this one with me. 

I don’t think I have ever read a romance like this before. This was such a perfect portrayal of a heathy romance. They meet not knowing they are meant to be marrying each other and they are brutally honest with with each other about how they find the other unattractive. Ildiko is human and Brishen is not human. Honestly I don’t really know what Brishen is. From that encounter onward they are have a mutual respect for each other and I loved watching them grow into a friendship to eventually falling in love with each other and from the very start they are always honest with each other even if they find themselves in awkward situations. I also loved that there is no 3rd act breakup. 

The only complaint I have is that the cover to me doesn’t depict what’s inside the book. The book goes on and on about how Brishen is hideous with these tusks. Maybe it’s just me but aside from his gray skin on the cover Brishen looks human and attractive. This really doesn’t have an affect on my rating I just found it annoying. I can’t wait to carry on in this series.